Edward G. Robinson

Edward Goldberg Robinson (12 December 1893-26 January 1973) was an American actor and political activist. Born Emanuel Goldenberg in Bucharest, Romania in 1893, his Jewish family emigrated to the United States via Ellis Island in 1904, fleeing pogroms and persecution. He served in the US Navy during World War II, and he became an actor in Yiddish theatre before appearing in 40 Broadway plays and more than 100 films over the course of 50 years. During the 1930s and 1940s, he became politically active as a Democrat, denouncing fascism and Nazism during the leadup to World War II. He gave over $250,000 to more than 850 organizations. He died in Los Angeles in 1973 at the age of 79.